Filler feed for cigar-making machines



Sept. 7, 1943. H. H. WHEELER FILLER FEED FOR CIGAR MAKLNG MACHINES FiledApril 15, 1959 2 She ets-Sheet 1\ p I. 1| I.

l lmii lmlbuhswil Sept" 7, 9 3- H. H. WHEELER FILLER FEED FOR CIGARMAKING MACHINES Filed April 15, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a EN wx Q Ehw umIn E . INVENTOR /212g! Ff/lfieelar EATTORNEY filler magazine arrangedhorizontally:

Patented Sept. 7 1943 MACHINES Henry -Wheeler, Brooklyn; Y.{,- assignorfto International Cigar Machinery company a I corporation oi'.,New-Jersey Application ApfiI IS, m ma 1 neonates. (c1. lfil ltl) r eV I actuated by the-driving means of the scrap feed This inventionrelates to'filler' aerator cigar making machines, one of its objectsbeing to provide for feeding long-filler tobocco or'a differn't grade oftobacco to'the head end of a scrap bunch charge whilethe; chargetransfer of the scrap bunch machine is' being' filled with'a charge.This object in the present invention-is achieved by mounting a'detaohable magazine of the proper 'cross-section whichhas previouslybeen filledwit'h long-filler tobacco or the desired "difierent gradeoftobacco, 'so as to' register with the head portion of the char'getransfer, and'by arranging suitable fingers which dip into the saidmagazine'to movein unison with the compacts-r 'magazine is made Wideenough to 'coverthe entire. width of. the cutting chamber, the samearrangement may be employe d to make long filler cigars in amagazihety'pe bunch machine.

In the accompanying drawings' whichifcrmsa ='part of this specificaticnandin which likeic'haractors of reference indicateiiliesameiorlikepartsz Fig. 1' is a side elevation of. a long. fillerfeed applied to a scrap .bunch'machineqwith' thelon'g gFig. 2;is a topView on" line 22'of:'Figi Fig. 3 is an'enlarged crc'ss-sectionon' line 33 of Fig. 1; n

Fig. 14 is. a side elevationof..a.'1ong-filler feed for a scrap bunchmachine, with the long filler magazine arranged,verticallyy;

Fig. 5is an end-elevation on-line of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan VlEW.0-Ii 1ln8"E-.5"Of Figr; Fig. '7 is a cross-sectionon line:'l-'| of ';Fig.:i4. Referring to Figs. 1 land "2,; the {numeral12 indicates the charge-cutting J'chamb'er of as'crap' "bunch machinesuch as that disclosedin "Reissue Patent 20,334 to F; C. .Glade'ck.etc'., reissued April'20, 19.37, Fig. lcorre'sponding'to Figi'lgan'd'Fig. 2 corresponding'to FigjzG of thef'said patent. Heretofore thechamber 12 was charged "uniformly across its entire width by thedelivery= mechanism of the scrap ieed-asshown infthe patent abovereferred to. -In'order to make scrap bunches with long-filler heads,'the' delivery mechanism of the scrap feed is made 'narrowerfby thedesired amount and-'tlie'ren'ioved ,pcrtion replaced by anauxihary1ong=fil1er feed which .18

'bacco -T, "as shown in Fig.2. 16 near the ledged block ll is'leittheo'riginal so as-to operate inunison With the same. Themeasuringchamber E3 of the scrap to bacco feed, withitsupwardlyswinginggateszl l and-fits charge-compressingplunger i5; is cut awayto a widthcorresponding with the portion of the bunch length required to b'e ofscrap to- I A short portion fullwidth. To maintain the; desiredproportion 'of 'scrap tobacco' supply, the feed scoop within the drumifi and the discharge opening'of fthe drum housing l9 are provided withpartition walls or filler. blocks to reduce their efiective chamber."

Into the space widthto the'size eithe narrowed measuring;

obtained by narrowing the measuring chamber and plunger is inserted: the

end of a tube magazine iilfilled with long-filler tobacc'oT cut'tolengthby a machine such as describediinU; S. Patent 1,516,828,isSuedNover'nber21.21924 to R. E. Rundell. "The maga- 'zin'e 20in thiscase is of rectangular cross-section :h'av'inga short side equal totheheight ofthe by an endless chain '23 running oversprockets 24 turning onshafts fla'iheldby bearings 26 and 21 resting ona support rail 23' andon the slide bar 230i the;scrap'.b.unch machine, respectively, the slidebar 23 being attached to a pedestal 30. In'Iorderto permit the fingers22'to 'enterthe -inag'azine; aiplatfcirm 3! is" provided supported byaparallelmotionf mechanism 32 from a pedestal 33 onythe'table ii i ofthe machine. After a new magazinehas been placed upon this platform.when in the-dotted position, the same'is raised into.operatingposition-by turning the handle'35 As the magtaohed to a shaft,slidable in bearings'38affixed tosupport rail '28-. The shaft 31 isactuated by the slide 39 which is controlled by cam leverjdjll,.throughrlinkci "and which. operates the rod. 42

of. plunger it in the manner described in the scrap bunch machine patentreferred to above." Slide '39 for this purposeis equipped with an armdl;

which terminates in a sleeve slidable on shaft 31. As the slidecommences its comparatively long forward stroke required for the scrapfeed, the sleeve of arm 43 slides idly on shaft 31, but near the end ofthe stroke, it engages with a spring 44 bacco T are fed simultaneouslyinto the wide outlet end I6 of the measuring-chamberand, at

their junction, will mingle together into a continuous layer beforereaching the cutting chamber l2, especially if the lengths oflong-filler is torsion of spring 6| causes plunger 64 to slide outward,thereby pushing fingers 56 into the windows 55 of the magazine andmoving screw 63 oil the block 69. The pressure of spring 6| then willpush the shaft 58 with the arms 51 downward, feeding long-filler tobaccofrom the magazine into the cutting chamber. On the down stroke of slide48, the cam piece 68 re-enters the groove 66, in plunger 64, therebymoving the plunger inward, as shown in Fig. 6, thus pulling the fingers56 out of the magazine and moving screw 63 back intothe path of lifterblock 69. At the bacco are cut zigzag-wise by a 'cc rrugated 'cuh" termthe magazine-filling machine.

On the return stroke of the slide 39 the arm,

43 engages with a fixed collar 46 and thereby causes the shaft 31 toslide back into its original position, the pawl 41 of the pusher 36being spring-tensione'd so as to slip over the links of the chain duringits retreating movement.

Having filled the charge transfer l2,. the com posite tobacco layer iscompressed by the vertical plunger 48 and cut intoa bunch charge by thescrap bunch knife 49, and is then rolled within a binder to form a cigarbunch as in the scrap bunch machine. p

Another arrangement of the magazine feedis shownin Figs. 4 to 7, Fig. 4:correspondingwith Fig. 10, and Fig. 5- corresponding with. Fig; 9 of thescrap bunch machine patent referred to. In this case, the magazines-.50are placed in a vertical positionand the reciprocating vertical rod 51in pedestal frame 52 of the scrap bunch machine is made use of tooperate the long-filler feed. The rod if is carri' operated from thedrive of the machine and carries the cutting chamber plunger or slide-48which, together with other parts" of the plunger unit, has beenreducedin width to make room for the long-filler feed. The

magazine is supported in the vertical position by an elbow casting 53and by a bracket 54, both attached to parts of the frame v52. Themagazine near its lower end is provided with a number of spaced windows55 through which fingers 56 enter into the long-filler tobacco "I" inthe magazine. The fingers 56 are arilxedto crank arms. 51 mounted on avertical shaft '58 slida'bly I supported in bearings 59 and 60 of thebrackets 53 and 54, respectively. .The shaft 58 is tensioned downwardlyby a coil spring 61-which is sofastened to bracket 54 and one of thearms 51 as to also exert torsion onlthe a'rms5l tending to move thefingers 56 into the windows. The hub of the uppermost-M11151 has, alateral exe tension 62, Fig; 6 through which passes a vertical adjustingscrew 63 carried by a plunger 64 sli'dable in a stationary support 65'-attache'd' to guide bar 66 of slide 43. The plunger 64 has a groove 61which is in engagement with a cam piece 68 of slide 18 during the entiretravel of the slide except in the topmost position of the latter when itdwells before starting its downward stroke. Near the lower end of slide48 is attached a lifter block 89 so placed to register with screw 63when the plunger 64=isin its innermost position shown in dotted lines inFig. 6, i. e'., when the cam piece 68' is in groove 66 or plunger InFig. 4, the full lines show the-feeding fingroove 66 in plunger 64'. Atthis moment; the

iii

end of the down stroke, the cam piece 68 is still in the plunger groove,as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4,;l 1ence the screw 63, which at thattime is in its lowermost position 63', has remained in the path oflifter block 69', as shown in Fig. 7, so

neous action of the scrap feed and long filler -feed, the knife, towhich in this case a separate long-filler knife 10 isattach'ed,descends, thereby severing the bunch charge; ready to be transferred tothe-rolling table. e

To makesure that the tobacco above the windows 55 of magazine 50 followsthe feed in the lower end, a weight H is inserted into-the top of themagazine after the same has been attached to the scrap bunch machine.This weight isprovided with a long stem- 12 carrying a cross pi-ece 13which comes to rest on the walls of the magae zine-when the'weight "Hhas come downto the first window, thereby preventing damage to thefingers 56 which would result if the weight would I the window opening.

7 the, assembled tobacco, said means including a horizontal measuringchamber having a portion of its length narrowedv and adapted to admit asupply of scrap tobacco, a detachable magazine coextensive with saidnarrowed portionand. containing a supply of long' filler tobacco, andmembersfor simultaneously compacting the tobacco in said narrowedportion and magazine and thereby forming a column of tobacco in theunnarrowed portion of the measuring chamber wherein the long-fillertobacco merges into the scrap tobacco andis disposed at one side of thecolumn. l

2. In a cigar machine, thecombination with a measuringchamber, of acharge transfer having rigid unyielding walls and adapted to receive acharge from said chamber, an endless member having pushers adaptedtocompact the tobacco in the chamber and feed it into said transfer, and

yielding means for periodically driving said memyield when the tobaccoadvanced into said transfer has been compacted to a predetermineddenslty.

- 3. In a cigar machine, the combination with a measuring chamber, of acharge transfer adapted to receive a; charge from said chamber, anendless member having pushers adapted to compact the tobacco in thechamber and feed it into said '75 transfer, and yielding means forperiodically 9. In a filler feed for cigar bunch machines, an

driving said member, and a device for relatively moving said measuringchamber and endless member to engage said pushers with the tobacco insaid measuring chamber.

4. In a cigar machine, the combination with means for confining a massof tobacco, of anendless member having pushers adapted to compact thetobacco in said confining means, and mechanism for actuating said memberto compact the tobacco in said means to a predetermined density andpermit yielding of said pushers upon attainment of said predetermineddensity, said mechanism including a yielding member engaging saidendless member for advancing said endless member with said pushers.

elongated detachable long filler magazine which is open at at least oneend, said magazine being of a length sufficient to aiford a source ofsupply of filler for a considerable number of cigars withoutreplenishment, a charge measuring chamber aligned with an open end ofsaid magazine, means operating on the filler tobacco in said magazineover a substantial portion of its length yieldingly urging the fillertherein toward said charge chamber with a predetermined pressure, so asto feed sufiicient filler into said measuring chamberfor one chargeundera predetermined 5. In a cigar machine, the combination with 1,

7 means for confining a mass of tobaeco,'of an endless member havingpushers adapted to compact the tobacco in said means, and mechanism foractuating said member to compact the tobacco in said means to apredetermined density and permit yielding of said pushers uponattainment of said predetermined density, said member and means beingrelatively movable to disengage said pushers from the tobacco in saidmeans.

6. In a cigar machine, the combination with a magazine adapted toreceive a supply of tobacco,

compression, and means for separating a measured volume of compressedfiller in said chamber from the remainder of said filler to form .ameasured charge, said filler urging means comprising of means forcompacting the tobacco in said magazine, said magazine being providedwith a movable support whereon it is detachably mount-, ed for movementinto and out of the range of action of said means. Y

7. In a cigar machine, the combination with a magazine adapted toreceive a supply of tobacco,

of means for compacting the tobacco in said 'magazine, said meansincluding an endless chain provided with pushers arranged to engage andcompact the tobacco in said chamber, and a reciprocating member engagingsaid chain to intermit-' tently advance the same and compact thetobaccoin said magazine, and a reciprocating support on which said member isyieldingly mounted to cause said pushers to compact the tobacco in themagazine to a predetermined density.

8. In a filler feed for cigar bunch machines,

an elongated detachable long filler magazine which is open at at leastone end, said magazine being of a length sufficient to afiord a sourceof supply of filler for a considerable number of cigars withoutreplenishment, a charge measuring chamber aligned with an open end ofsaid magazine, means operating on the filler tobacco in'said magazineover a substantial portion of its length,

yieldingly urging the filler therein toward said charge chamber with apredetermined pressure,

so as to fieed sufiicient filler-into said measuring a chamber for onecharge undera predetermined compression, and means for separating ameasured volume of compressed filler in said chamber from the remainderof said filler to form a measured-charge, said filler urging meanscomprising a series of filler penetrating elements spaced along thelength of said magazine and meansimparting to each of said elementsmovement into the filler and to the discharge end of saidmagazine underpredetermined yielding pressure while pacting both columnssimultaneously to intermingle the adjacentsides of both columns at theirforward ends and thereby form a composite.

layer, an d'mechanism for separating composite bunch charges from theycompacted composite layer.

11. In a cigar machine, the combination with means -for assembling twoseparate horizontally aligned columns of scrap tobacco and long fillertobacco respectively alongside and in contact with each other,ofyielding-means for compacting both columns simultaneously tointermingle the adjacent sides of both columns at their for-f ward endsand thereby form a composite layer,

and mechanism for separating composite bunch charges from the compactedcomposite layer, said means operating to assemble the separate tobaccocolumns in such relationship to each other I that long filler tobaccowill lie at the head-ends of the bunch charges separated from saidlayer.

12. In' a cigar machine, the combination with chambers respectivelycontaining difierent grades of tobacco, of a charge transfer arranged toreceive tobacco from each of said chambers at different portions of itslength respectively, sepaa series of' filler penetrating elements'spacedalong the length of said magazine, and meansimparting to each of saidelements movement into the filler and then to the dischargeend of saidmagazine while maintaining the element in the magazine.

rate yielding members for simultaneously compacting the tobacco in eachof said chambers respectively, and thereby forcing the tobacco from eachof said chambers into said transfer to fill various portions of thelength of said transfer with different grades of tobacco and interminglethe juncture of said various portions within said transfer, and a knifefor separating said intermingled portions withinsaid transfer from the,

remainder of the tobacco in said chambers;

HENRY H. WHEELER.

